{"id":3671,"date":"2014-09-19T17:02:42","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T15:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=3671"},"modified":"2021-09-12T15:38:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T13:38:15","slug":"starting-a-travel-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/starting-a-travel-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Buonvivere: Good Living in Romagna"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"la<\/a>OK, here we are with part three of my series on starting a travel blog.\u00a0 This time we will be talking about promoting your site.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t read part one<\/a> or part two<\/a> yet, you might want to catch up first.<\/p>\n

Before we move on to today\u2019s topic, I\u2019d like to make the second big announcement<\/strong> about my travel blogging life.\u00a0 At the beginning of next month, I\u2019ll be participating in La Settimana del Buonvivere<\/a> which celebrates, as the name implies, a week of good living and wellbeing. We will discuss how the collective wellbeing contributes to our society, and how a lifestyle based on cultural identity helps us feel connected to our community.\u00a0 All over Italy, identifying with your region and your hometown are an important part of an individual\u2019s sense of self, which in turn also benefits the community at large. \u00a0In sum, relationships<\/em> are at the core of the seven elements of this conference: Economical Ethics, Common Good, Culture, Food, Health, Wellness, and Cohesion.<\/p>\n

So yes, the proverbial \u201cgood life.\u201d\u00a0 But by saying \u201cthe good life,\u201d we are using it as a synonym for healthy, balanced living\u2014NOT over-the-top luxury or conspicuous consumption, as it is too often defined.\u00a0 And no, there\u2019s no contradiction in the fact that we\u2019ll be staying at the Grand Hotel Terme of Riolo<\/a>, where we will indulge in the thermal baths (for research purposes only, obviously), eat delicious food, and stroll among the lush gardens.\u00a0 There will be fishing trips, cooking classes and all sorts of activities related to the good life. \u00a0Oh, the sacrifices I make for my blog and its readers\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I would like to thank my friend Alessandra from 21grammy<\/a> for inviting me back to her region.\u00a0 Last year I join her and a few other bloggers in Cesenatico for a lovely weekend by the sea.\u00a0 This year, we\u2019ll be all over the Romagna region to experience the very best of good living, Italian style.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s move on to today\u2019s discussion for those who are starting a travel blog.<\/p>\n

Before starting a travel blog, get social<\/h2>\n

In a comment submitted to the first post of this series, one reader suggested that a newbie might try \u201cblogging\u201d on a Facebook Page before starting a travel blog.\u00a0 I thought about this, and yes, it could be a good idea.\u00a0 After all, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets are actually considered micro-blogging platforms.\u00a0 If you can get in the habit of posting regularly and start to develop your voice, you could build a following with social media before making the move to your own self-hosted blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"jab<\/a>
A concise guide to social media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In any case, if you want your blog to reach an audience beyond your immediate family and a couple of stalkers, then you should be on social media promoting your site.\u00a0 But you need to do it right, and always keep in mind the \u201csocial\u201d part of social media.\u00a0 Make contacts, have conversations, and share quality content other than just your own.\u00a0 In other words, don\u2019t be a narcissist; it ain\u2019t all<\/em> about you, it\u2019s about building an online community.<\/p>\n

For those of you that are already active on social media and want to take it to the next level, I suggest the book \u201cJab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook<\/a>\u201d by Gary Vaynerchuck, one of the authoritative voices on the topic.\u00a0 The title of the book is taken from the sport of boxing, \u201cthe sweet science,\u201d as it\u2019s sometimes called, because it\u2019s as much about chess as it is punching.\u00a0 He recommends that you throw a few \u201cjabs,\u201d implying a softer interaction before delivering the knockout punch (right hook), which is your \u201ccall to action,\u201d or sales pitch.\u00a0 The reasoning is that if you constantly pummel your readers with too many demands, they will very quickly start to retreat, if not block you from their newsfeeds.\u00a0 Instead, be a source of information and\/or entertainment, so that when you do<\/em> ask them to: read your post, like your page, sign up for your email list, etc., they are more likely to comply.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Mr. Vaynerchuck stresses that you have to fit your message so that it appears to be more \u201cnative\u201d to the platform.\u00a0 For example, Twitter tends to attract an ironic, playful audience, so serious statements are often overlooked or even ridiculed.\u00a0 Pinterest and Instagram are mostly visual mediums, so there\u2019s no need to compose elegant captions\u2014a few hashtags will do.<\/p>\n

On my own ability to effectively use social media, I\u2019d give myself about a 6.5 out of 10.\u00a0 I do Facebook and Twitter fairly well, but suck on other platforms.\u00a0 If you want to see an example of an Italy blogger who does it perfectly, check out my COSI friend<\/a> Georgette Jupe, a.k.a., The Girl in Florence<\/a>.\u00a0 (Here I\u2019ve linked to her Facebook Page rather than her blog so you can see how she interacts with the English-speaking Italo-philes around the world.)\u00a0 It\u2019s no wonder that Italy Magazine has hired her to work with their online community.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, it takes a lot time to be \u201ceverywhere,\u201d and there a few tools to help you with this\u2014apps that can organize your social media feeds, such as Hootsuite<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But of course, you don\u2019t have to<\/em> be everywhere.\u00a0 You do, however, need to be active on Facebook.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good to be the king<\/h2>\n

I read that one out of every five page views in the U.S. are on Facebook.\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 No doubt, Facebook is still king, and every blogger should have a Facebook Page. \u00a0Remember, a Page is different than a personal Profile.\u00a0 Most people have both, and you can certainly promote your blog posts on your personal profile.\u00a0 However, you should devote your Page to only<\/em> promoting your blog along with other relevant content within your niche.\u00a0 In other words, don\u2019t go posting disparaging remarks about your mother-in-law\u2019s casserole on your Page\u2026save that for your personal profile. We don\u2019t need pictures of your pets or conversations pertaining to your upcoming high school reunion.\u00a0 Keep it limited to the theme of your blog.<\/p>\n

Twitter is in second place regarding importance, and many bloggers find it to be an effective tool for having conversations with their readers, as well as other bloggers and folks in their niche. \u00a0Twitter is a good exercise for writers, because it teaches you to be an effective self-editor, since you only have 140 characters to get your point across.\u00a0 It\u2019s the perfect platform for the A.D.D. amongst us.<\/p>\n

Mr. Vaynerchuck has a different analogy.\u00a0 He says, \u201cTwitter is the cocktail party of the Internet,\u201d and then he goes on to stress that\u2014unlike blogging where you\u2019re dictating a conversation\u2014on Twitter, \u201clistening well has tremendous benefits.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, pay attention to what people in your niche are talking about, and use that information to direct the content development on your blog and\/or Facebook Page.<\/p>\n

Speaking of listening, you might want to listen to yourself once in a while.\u00a0 Check out the newly released analytics dashboard to see which of your tweets attract the most engagements.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/analytics.twitter.com\/user\/HANDLE\/tweets<\/strong> (where \u201chandle\u201d is your twitter name)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like most, you\u2019ll notice that your tweets that contain photos have about 3-5x as much engagement as those that don\u2019t.\u00a0 Not using photos on Twitter?\u00a0 Maybe you should start.\"fun_hashtag\"<\/p>\n

What about hashtags?\u00a0 Should you use them, and if so, how many?<\/p>\n

The rule of thumb here is that you should use one or two hashtags with every tweet. \u00a0Three at the very most.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed, but it\u2019s really annoying, almost difficult to read a tweet where every other word has a hashtag.\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of become bad manners to overload on them. \u00a0Don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

One other note on hashtags: funny ones get noticed and shared.\u00a0 It\u2019s like your tweet is the set up and the hashtag becomes the punchline.\u00a0 For example, I came across this one: \u201cHey girl, can I have your phone number and email address?\u00a0 Just kidding, I already have it. #NSAPickUpLines\u201d\u00a0 Pretty good, huh?<\/p>\n

As for the rest of the social media sites, their importance somewhat depends on your niche.\u00a0 Travel bloggers should definitely be on Instagram.\u00a0 I\u2019ve only just started with this tool, tragically late to the party, as usual.\u00a0 Travel blogs should also have a Pinterest account.\u00a0 Sadly, I don\u2019t.\u00a0 (Do as I say and not as I do, newbies.)\u00a0 If you\u2019re a blogger that aspires to expand your writing career beyond your own site, then maybe LinkedIn is a good place to be for professional contacts.\u00a0 Google Plus?\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s Google, so yes, you should be there, too.<\/p>\n

A final note: when writing something on any of these platforms, try to be as sharp and concise as possible.\u00a0 It\u2019s not easy, I realize, because it\u2019s not the way our brains naturally work.\u00a0 You have to develop the skill.\u00a0 But it\u2019s worth it because people\u2019s attention spans are short on social media, so you must take the time to distill your message down to the most potent form.\u00a0 Your readers will appreciate it.<\/p>\n

As Blaise Pascal wrote, \u201cI would have written you a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the way, if you want to see what \u201cthe good life\u201d is all about during La Settimana del Buonvivere<\/a> next month, follow the hashtag: #romagnabuonvivere<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OK, here we are with part three of my series on starting a travel blog.\u00a0 This time we will be talking about promoting your site.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t read part one or part two yet, you might want to catch up first. Before we move on to today\u2019s topic, I\u2019d like to make the second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[169,9,118,66,285],"tags":[289,201,161,274],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}